Presently, high performance laser printers employ replaceable toner cartridges. Such toner cartridges include not only a replacement toner supply but also include mechanisms that are subject to wear during the operation of the printer and are replaced each time a new toner cartridge is substituted for an exhausted cartridge. While such mechanisms assure a printer's continuing performance, they are expensive and add significantly to the operating cost of a laser printer.
In order to reduce the cost of laser printers, newer designs employ re-chargeable toner reservoirs that are contained within the printer. This is especially true in color laser printers wherein four separate toner reservoirs are required. Such toner reservoirs are maintained within the covers of the printer and are accessible when a toner loader door is opened. At such time, a toner bottle is mated with a toner reservoir and toner is dumped into the reservoir to replenish its supply. During the replenishment operation, two hands are required, one to hold the toner bottle and another to remove a seal from the mouth of the toner bottle so as to enable it to communicate with the toner reservoir. As a result, the toner loader door must maintain itself in an open position without requiring any hand interaction from the user.
While many mechanisms are available to maintain a toner loader door in both open and closed conditions, such mechanisms add to the expense of the printer structure and are to be avoided, if possible.
Accordingly, it is an object of this invention to provide a laser printer with an improved toner loader door arrangement.
It is another object of this invention to provide an improved toner loader door mechanism wherein the toner loader door maintains itself in both open and closed positions without a requirement for additional closure and opening mechanisms.